They don't bug me at all...I just don't really get the allure... Rather than having something cute and cuddly, you have something you don't pet or cuddle with. You have to de-fang, etc... Just send cruel to me.
Exotic animals should be left where they belong - in the wild, and in their country of origin.
Most of them are captive bred..because of CITES.
depends on the animal: a lot are still wild caught. Hint: if they are cheap, or very rare but not crazy expensive....wild caught.
Wild caught is still a huge business sadly...
Wild caught or not, I’m still seeing an animal whose entire life is spent locked in a tiny cage. How is it that zoos are evil, but this is okay?
We had a neighbour kid a few years ago who had some kind of iguana. We pet sat for him for a week, and I just found it very depressing to see that thing stuck in its tiny glass box 24/7. Like how people used to keep birds in a cage (I guess people probably still do that, too.)
But I don’t know anything about reptiles. Maybe they are truly so unaware and unintelligent that it makes no difference to them? Still, I just find it sad.
I do agree, it is hard to give a proper enclosure for a reptile. They can survive and be comfortable in smaller spaces [ie. 25 gal. tank for a Leopard Gecko, or as long as the tank is long enough for a snake to stretch its length it is big enough, etc.] My snake is a rescue, after he passes I am not having another. He lives in a 30 gal tank, he is under 2ft long, and he does not move about much except in spring [mating season]. I take him out as much as I can...but yes, they are best in the wild. If a reptile is in too small an enclosure, they can get over stressed and not eat, not shed properly, be very aggressive, etc.
I ran an iguana rescue in Ottawa when I was younger, there were so many abandoned and abused. I am glad they are banned as a pet in Ontario now, they really are not good pets for inexperienced kids once they get huge and [for males] aggressive. My 4 adult rescue iguanas were all over 6ft, one almost 7ft, and had the run of the house, and went back to their huge tanks to sleep and eat. My Cuban Knight Anoles were in huge 50+gal tanks.
